Atiak Sugar Factory

Atiak Sugar Factory Limited
Company typePrivate
IndustryManufacture & Marketing of Sugar
Founded2016; 8 years ago (2016)
HeadquartersAtiak, Amuru District, Uganda
Key people
Amina Moghe Hersi
Owner/CEO
ProductsSugar
Number of employees
1,500+ (2016)

Atiak Sugar Factory Limited (ASFL), also Atiak Sugar Factory, or Atiak Sugar Limited, is a sugar manufacturing company in Uganda.[1]

Location

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The company's headquarters and main factory are located in Gem Village, Pachilo Parish, Atiak sub-county, Kilak County, in Amuru District, in the Northern Region of Uganda. It is approximately 17 kilometres (11 mi) north of Atiak. Atiak Town is located approximately 69 kilometres (43 mi) north of Gulu, the largest city in Northern Uganda.[2]

Overview

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The factory has the capacity to crush 1,650 tonnes (1,650,000 kg) of raw sugar cane daily, producing 66,000 tonnes (66,000,000 kg) of powder sugar annually.[3] Commissioning of the factory was expected in May 2016, with first distribution of sugar planned for June 2017. The factory will employ over 1,500 people and has contracted with over 5,000 out-growers. The owners of the company have established a working relationship with Gulu Women Entrepreneurs Association Limited (GWEAL), whose objective is to develop Northern Uganda.[4][5]

In July 2017, the government of Uganda extended a credit facility of US$17.4 million (approx. USh62.65 billion) to Horyal Investments Holding Company Limited, the owner of Atiak Sugar Factory. The loan, according to Uganda's finance minister will help Horyal to finish construction, procure the sugar-manufacturing machinery and start sugar production. Amina Hersi Moghe, the Chief Executive Officer of Horyal, says the credit will "provide support to sugarcane out growers, offset the balance of procuring machines and restructure their loan period with DFCU Bank". A new commissioning date has been pushed to June 2019.[6]

Construction

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The supervising engineering company is Sugarnpower Projects Private Limited, from India. An electricity co-generation plant with initial capacity of 6 megawatts (8,046 hp), expandable to 27 megawatts (36,208 hp), is incorporated in the design.[7]

As of July 2018, construction was estimated at 70 percent completed. At that time, Amina Morghe Hersi, had invested an estimated USh272 billion (US$70 million) and UDC had invested USh65 billion (US$17 million). In October 2019, the Daily Monitor newspaper reported that completion was slated for the first quarter of 2020.[8] In March 2020, Dr. Amina Moghe Hersi indicated that commissioning of the factory was slated for April 2020.[9]

In July 2020, The Independent (Uganda) newspaper reported that commercial production would start in August 2020.[10]

Production Halt

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In March 2022, Atiak Sugar Factory in Amuru District temporarily shut down sugar production over inadequate cane supply. Although the factory was projected to shut down for a short time pending the production of more cane, the current projection points to 2025 when it's likely to resume.[11]

It is expected that when the factory resumes production in late 2024 or early 2025, it will rely on irrigation and mechanization to boost productivity and be able to crush 1,650 tonnes of raw cane daily.[12] During the 2022/2023 financial year, the Parliament of Uganda approved USh108 billion (approx. US$28.5 million) to establish an irrigation system and procure machinery and mechanize some of the tasks, including land clearing, planting, weeding, harvesting and collection of harvested cane.[13]

Ownership

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The company is a subsidiary of Horyal Investment Holding Company Limited, owned by Amina Moghe Hersi, a female Kenyan entrepreneur of Somali descent.[4][14] In May 2018, the government of Uganda, through the Uganda Development Corporation (UDC), took a 10.1 percent ownership in Atiak Sugar Factory, for an investment of USh20 billion (approximately US$5.5 million).[15]

In July 2018, UDC invested another USh45 billion (approx. US$11.6 million), thus raising its stake in the factory to 32 percent.[16][17] In April 2019, the company requested another USh 24 billion (approx. US$6.5 million), in funding to complete construction of offices and staff houses, with opening planned for the second half of 2019. This would bring the governments shareholding to 44 percent.[18]

In September 2023, Ugandan print media indicated that Horyal Investments owned 51 percent and the Uganda Development Corporation owned 49 percent of the company shares.[12]

Atiak Sugar Limited Stock Ownership
Rank Name of Owner Ownership (July 2018) Ownership (May 2019) Ownership (September 2023)
1 Horyal Investments Holding Company Limited 68.0 56.0[18] 51.0[12]
2 Uganda Development Corporation 32.0[16] 44.0[18] 49.0[12]
Total 100.00 100.00 100.00

Co-generation

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When the factory opens, it is expected to have crushing capacity of 1,650 metric tonnes of sugarcane daily with co-generation of 6 megawatts of electricity. Future production is expected to increase to 3,500 metric tonnes of sugarcane daily with co-generation of 27 megawatts.[19]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Administrator (17 February 2016). "50 Million Dollar Factory Established In Atiak". Gulu: Adwarping.co.ug. Archived from the original on 31 March 2016. Retrieved 20 April 2016.
  2. ^ "Road Distance Between Gulu, Northern Region, Uganda And Atiak Town, Northern Region, Uganda" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
  3. ^ Labeja, Peter (23 July 2017). "Pictorial: Development of Sugar Factory In Amuru". Kampala: Uganda Radio Network. Retrieved 9 January 2018.
  4. ^ a b TEA (10 October 2015). "New sugar factory a blessing to farmers in Northern Uganda" (PDF). Nairobi: Ipsos.co.ke Quoting The EastAfrican (TEA). Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 August 2017. Retrieved 19 August 2017.
  5. ^ Kiggundu, Edris (23 November 2016). "Uganda: Acholi - Museveni to Buys Hoes, but Land Wrangles Are the 'New Kony'". The Observer (Uganda) via AllAfrica.com. Retrieved 20 April 2016.
  6. ^ Labeja, Peter (23 July 2017). "Government Injects UGX 62 Billion in Atiak Sugar Factory". Kampala: Uganda Radio Network. Retrieved 16 August 2017.
  7. ^ Sugarnpower.com (9 January 2018). "Projects: Horyal investment Holding Company Limited, Atiak, Uganda". Ghaziabad, India: Sugarnpower.com. Retrieved 9 January 2018.
  8. ^ Stephen Kafeero (20 October 2019). "Government Increases Stake In Atiak Sugar Project". Daily Monitor. Kampala. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
  9. ^ European CEO (10 March 2020). "Atiak Sugar Factory has made green fields out of battlefields, says CEO". London, United Kingdom: EuropeanCeo.com. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
  10. ^ The Independent (19 July 2020). "Atiak sugar industry to begin production in August". Kampala. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
  11. ^ Teddy Dokotho (2 June 2022). "Atiak stops sugar production". Daily Monitor. Kampala, Uganda. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
  12. ^ a b c d TIUG (12 September 2023). "Govt starts delivering machines to Atiak sugar factory". The Independent (Uganda) (TIUG). Kampala, Uganda. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
  13. ^ Jesus Okello Ojara (12 September 2023). "Atiak Sugar factory acquires machines to improve productivity". Daily Monitor. Kampala, Uganda. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
  14. ^ Ocungi, Julius (23 March 2016). "Professor Latigo faults Amuru leaders on investments". Daily Monitor. Kampala. Retrieved 20 April 2016.
  15. ^ Kafeero, Stephen (24 May 2018). "Stalled Atiak sugar factory works leaves 3,500 farmers in distress". Daily Monitor. Kampala. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
  16. ^ a b Labeja, Peter (29 June 2018). "Installation of Atiak Sugar Factory Set to Resume". Kampala: Uganda Radio Network. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
  17. ^ Sugar News (2 July 2018). "Uganda: Government injects more funds into Atiak sugar mill to complete construction". London: Agra-net.com. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
  18. ^ a b c Henry Sekanjako (25 April 2019). "Government To Invest More Sh24 Billion In Atiak Sugar Factory". New Vision. Kampala. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
  19. ^ Stephen Wandera (12 December 2018). "Government Buys Shares In Atiak Sugar Factory". Kampala: Uganda Vanguard Online. Retrieved 12 February 2019.
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03°25′05″N 32°07′52″E / 3.41806°N 32.13111°E / 3.41806; 32.13111

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